The six-week trial is part of a commitment by Pringles to make 100% of its packaging recyclable, reusable, or compostable by 2025
Currently, the packaging widely found on Pringles crisps is a combination of foil, paperboard, metal, and plastic (Credit: Pixabay)
Snack brand Pringles is trialling the use of recyclable paper packaging in partnership with UK-based supermarket chain Tesco.
Taking place in selected stores across East Anglia, the results will shape how packaging used by the brand — owned by Kellogg’s — could look in the future.
This is part of a commitment to ensure all of its packaging is 100% reusable, recyclable, or compostable by the end of 2025.
Pringles’ vice-president Miranda Prins said: “We are eager to play our part and reduce our impact on the planet.
“So, we’ve worked hard to come up with this new can which is widely recyclable and keeps our crisps fresh and tasty and protects them from breaking up – which helps to reduce food waste.
“The important thing for us is getting the trial up and running with Tesco and collecting all the data and consumer feedback.
“At this stage it is too early to say whether we’ll roll out this new paper tube, however, the information we collect will help us understand if people like it and if it works on the supermarket shelf and at home.”
How will Pringles’ recyclable packaging trial work?
Currently, the packaging widely found on Pringles’ products is made up of a combination of foil, paperboard, metal, and plastic — making it difficult to recycle through the existing household system.
The company says the new packaging being tested will allow people to place it into home recycling bins.
The new product will be trialled with paper and plastic lids, both of which can be recycled.
It took the developers at Kellogg’s almost 12 months to create the packaging, which has been designed to protect the Pringles crisp shape while maintaining a long shelf-life.
If the trial is successful, the company could roll out the new-look packaging across Europe.
It will be trialled at Tesco for six weeks from 9 September.
In-depth studies will be conducted to help Pringles understand the reaction of shoppers, including the use of eye-tracking analysis to show how people visually react to the new packaging on the shelf.
Tesco Group quality director Sarah Bradbury said: “We are working at speed with our suppliers to remove packaging where we can, reduce what we cannot remove, to reuse more and to make sure the packaging we do use is recyclable.
“This work is achieving real change for our customers and our environment.
“It’s vital that all products become recyclable as quickly as possible and we’re delighted that Pringles is trailing its new tube exclusively with us, and we look forward to further progress.”
The trial will take place in three Tesco stores in Cambridge and Suffolk and will be used on the Pringles 200g Original product.